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Patrick

New York

Simply a Participant

A long time ago, I was a participant in an abortion. I don’t like saying it that way, but how else? We got pregnant. But she bore the gravest consequences, the true weight of it all. Don’t get me wrong. I stood with her every step of the way. It took years, though, for me to get it, to understand how easily I could’ve slipped away, how easily I could have made it not my problem.

She didn’t have that freedom, but back then she could pretty freely decide her destiny and control her body. No longer, as politicians in that state have passed laws that undermine the rights of a woman to determine her future, her health, or when she wants to start a family. I can’t accept that.

What I can accept is the fact that I was simply a participant in an abortion. What I embrace is the role of being a fighter for reproductive rights and a guy who draws the line.